Does everyone with Fibro have trouble sleeping???

Just curious. Do you all take sleep meds??? Can any of you sleep without them? I used to sleep 8-9 hours a night non stop (not even a potty break). Now, if I don't have some sleep aid, I can only sleep for a few hours then awake for the rest of the night as if that was enough.
Is this a menopause thing?? If I take estrogen will I be able to sleep?? Just curious about this.

No, I don't have a problem at all ! I used to along time back, but I quit taking all the drugs, and after that, sleep all thru the night. The only medince I take today, for my thyroid, hormone, and Ambrotose AO by Mannatech ! Hope this helps.

Ambrotose AO is a capsules, same thing you are taking, but there capsules. I tryed the powder, but it didn't do nothing for me. But most people do take the powder. In 5 days, what a big change in my life !! I was in shock ! If you are doing the powder, you should know the difference in 5 days. For the AO capsules, started out four a day, than went to 3, and for over a year now, 2 a day !! Put my name in searched,as I had written out how it has change my life ! Maybe this well help you.

at all, and it's because the Pain, I have wakes me up.
Otherwise I could sleep more and Better too.

I have tried, everything, Ambien, Dalmane, Halicon, of which I have practillay full bottles of. Nothing will keep me asleep.

My Pain meds, help me more than the Sleepers.
I wish they still made to oldies, they worked so much better for me.

I have had Insomina since childhood. So being Old as dirt now, I can say I have tried them all, except for the newest, Lunesta, and I haven't read to many good posts about that either.
On this board and others that I read.

I go around and around with my Doctor's on this, they say if I could get more Sleep I would feel better, and I agree, but, I can't get more sleep, due to the Pain Issue.
Which is caused by numerous Conditions and then having FMS/CMPD add to that.

It is my understanding that sleep disruption is a big part of FM, that we have little thingys that go haywire in our brain that trigger us to wake up just as we fall asleep, which in turn disrupts our 'sleep restoration period' which in turn triggers the pain. I don't know if the doctors studies have changed this or not but I do know it affects me, especially if I am in a flare, if it hasn't already sent me into a flare on it's own.

There are times when I seem to have no problem sleeping, other times when I can't seem to get to sleep at all, and still other times when I'll go through periods of waking up every hour or so. Very rarely will I have several nights in a row of good straight-through sleep.

When I realize that I haven't had a good nights sleep for several nights I will take a OTC sleep-eze type med to ward off a flare. However, even just taking one of these (half a dose) will make me groggy the next day but they do help get me back into the sleep pattern. (edited for content per site rules)
When all else fails, I just reach for a good book and let it flow knowing that "this too shall pass".

I have a terrible time sleeping, I haven't had a decent nights sleep for months. I have had sleep problems since I started with FM & CFS seven years ago but the last few months it has gotten much worse, and even the few hours I do sleep, I don't feel rested or refreshed when I wake up.

I had my first appointment at the Pain Clinic on Friday and the doctor prescribed Cesamet for the pain, and said it will also help me sleep. Haven't tried them yet, as the Pharmacy had to order them and won't get them for a few days. so am hoping to get some decent sleep soon.

That's how my FM started too - 6 weeks straight of about 1 hour of sleep a night in maybe 10 minute intervals, then the FM jumped on full force.

Since then I have been prescribed lots of sleep meds, but they have the opposite effect on me and wire me totally. The only thing that works for me is taking Xanax. If I can get my brain to slow down enough I can sleep. It seems otherwise I just can't relax and shut down my thinking processes.

I have been through menopause, still have night sweats, but my doc says it's been long enough that this shouldn't be the problem - that it's the FM.

I have been using new "Menostar Estrogen" patches! They are the lowest dose Estrogen available.I didn't realize how much they were helping my joint pain and sleeping,until I forgot to get them at the drugstore. So I was 3 days without the patch. My Hubby went to the drugstore for me and I will be glad to get them. I was sooo glad to find something besides the Nsaids and the Fosamx b/c they don't seem to help me at all. Any way if you are in Menopause it would be good to get some. No breakthough bleeding! I love them and with the very small dose they do not require Progesterone at all and are safe to use. I'm very glad that I found them.Hope this helps.
Shirley

Do we have trouble sleeping? You betcha. My sleep doctor got a special release from me to present my study to a national meeting of Sleep Doctors, where he presented a speech.

THAT IS NOT GOOD.

The release also was for the video tape which they make during the sleep lab and he had people come up to him afterwards and say they had never seen anyone kick, flail, and do the things I did, in addition to the fact that despite using a CPAP, I had almost awakened, on the average, more than 30 times and hour.

I remember that when I went back to get the report, and it was the second sleep lab I had, and had it just because I needed a new CPAP machine and the insurance companies require a new sleep lab, which costs more than the CPAP, by the way. THE DOCTOR ASKED ME IF ANYONE SLEPT WITH ME, AND I HAD TO ADMIT THAT MY HUSBAND HAD GROWN TIRED OF BEING KICKED, SMACKED, AND MY THRASHING, DESPITE BEING IN A KING SIZE BED AND HAD TAKEN HIS PILLOW TO A GUEST ROOM.

I then remarked that not even the dog would sleep with me anymore. HIS REPONSE WAS - THAT IS A SMART DOG.

"No, I don't have a problem at all! I used to along time back, but I quit taking all the drugs, and after that, sleep all thru the night. The only medince I take today, for my thyroid, hormone, and Ambrotose AO by Mannatech!"

These guys are on the right track giving you glyconutrients. So, answer would be YES to sleep problems if you weren't taking the glyconutrients.

I want to take some for my type 2 diabetes and Syndrome X & who knows what's next 'on the scene?' I suspect, in my case, they are birth defects from my dad's Navy exposures to n-butyl ethers during WWII. Brain tumors and leukemia are said to be birth defects of such solvents, but so far nothing in that direction.

I think that a baby can take glyconutrients in their bottle & help with things like hemangiomas, etc

Not always...But I have noticed my cats and dogs no longer will sleep with me, and my hubby says he sleeps better in the easy chairs. Hmmm I wonder? I know I do tend to stay up way late and then sleep late too, but the last couple hours are light sleep where I dream alot. http://207.97.211.82/images/chat/forums/icons/image31.gif
http://207.97.211.82/images/chat/forums/icons/image31.gif

I can sleep reasonably well without medication. I've never been medicated to sleep long term (only once or twice in hospital.)
Though I look like I am sleeping okay on the outside (minus the night terrors,) I fully believe that I don't get restorative sleep & therefore wake up like I've had no sleep at all.

In the beginning of my fibro journey..I was either sleepless..or waking up every hour or two. That and the pain is what got me to my first doctor appointment. Of course , it was the obligatory elavil..and vicoden for pain. Which I have read later shouldn't be used together! Anyway..the elavil helped at first..but I had weight gain...dry mouth, peridontal issues...and then I started right back to waking up! He tried nortriplyline..but same results...So I said ENOUGH and no more. At that point I took Valerian...and started sleeping much better...sometimes thru the night. Eventually I stopped taking that..and for the most part my sleep is good. I do wake up about once a night due to bladder issues...but that is it. I don't feel like I am not sleeping well, other than that first thing out of bed Mack truck feeling we all love so much. But, I am not tired during the day...and I do not take naps. So, I think I am sleeping ok!

This past March/April I started getting insomnia. I don't know if it is related to hormones/perimeno (I'm 47) or is it part of having fibro or a combination of the 2. My NP prescribed Ativan to help with sleep and anxiety. It helps me sleep straight through the night. Otherwise I lay awake just about all night. For example, I'd go to bed around 11pm, and might doze for a few minutes off and on. I'm still awake at 3am, maybe sleep for a few minutes, wake again around 4am and so on, and so on. Finally around 5am I fall asleep (just before it's time to wake up!!!) That was such a nightmare (no pun intended haha) and I'd feel even worse during the day. Now I feel so much better since I'm sleeping through the night.